From learning to cooperation
In the late 1990s, Vikingstad visited Renova’s sorting facility in Gothenburg for industrial waste, where he saw how combustible waste was separated from other materials. He later used that knowledge to establish a similar sorting plant for Haugaland Gjenvinning in Haugesund, Norway.
“It was the first sorting plant I ever visited, and my first trip abroad by plane,” says Vikingstad. “Renova has been part of my whole history in the waste industry.”
Around 2006, Renova became a Geminor customer, at first receiving waste fuel from Norway. Deliveries from the UK followed. Today the cooperation involves three companies: Geminor produces the fuel, DFDS ships it across the North Sea, and Renova turns it into energy.
From Hull to Gothenburg
Geminor opened its Hull HUB in April 2023 as its first processing facility outside the Nordic countries. The facility processes residual waste, including household waste from Hull City Council, into refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
Last heating season, around 40,000 tonnes of fuel from the Hull HUB and other Geminor UK customers were transported to Renova by DFDS’s regular North Sea freight route.
At Renova’s Sävenäs waste-to-energy plant, the fuel is converted into electricity and district heating, and in 2025, the facility supplied around a third of Gothenburg’s district heating.
A first-hand look
Sixten Lindberg and Christer Lundgren from Renova and Morgan Olausson from DFDS recently visited the Hull HUB. Vikingstad, Richard Keith and Ian Hurst from Geminor showed them around.
Renova sets high requirements for the fuel it receives, and the visitors were very pleased with what they saw.
“It was good to see the Hull operation first-hand. Knowing how the fuel is produced and what goes into it is important to us,” says Sixten Lindberg, Sales Manager, Renova.
For DFDS, the cooperation also makes use of an established shipping route between the UK and Sweden.
“Waste fuel fits well into our North Sea network. It uses capacity on sailings that already run, and seeing where the chain starts in Hull gives us a better picture of the whole flow,” says Morgan Olausson, Vice President, Logistics BU Nordic & Baltikum, DFDS.
Nordic standards in the UK
The Hull HUB was built to meet Nordic standards from day one. That means full compliance with permits and regulations, consistent fuel quality and a strong focus on safety.
“The recipe behind this partnership is close cooperation, meeting every requirement and regulation, and delivering at a Nordic level. Renova has very high standards, and that pushes us to keep improving,” says Vikingstad.
Geminor is assessing a second development phase at the Hull HUB to remove more plastic from the waste fuel before shipment. This is particularly relevant for Swedish customers, as fossil CO₂ emissions from waste incineration carry a cost under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).